This last episode in this series covers a lot of ground. First there is the death of President Roosevelt, which was followed by victory in Europe as the Nazis surrendered. Along with the invasion of Europe there was the discovery of the death camps, as well liberation of the POWs who many were walking skeletons. The Germans murdered 12 million people during the war, of those half were Jewish. In addition the killed dissidents, homosexuals, those with abnormalities, Polish, and many other groups. This was an evil empire, and the American service men in the area took home that they were carrying out a noble cause.
With victory in Europe the focus turned to Japan. The Battle of Okinawa was very costly to Japanese troops, American troops and Japanese civilians. The next stage of the war, the invasion of Japan was a daunting task. The Japanese readily armed civilians, and had the concept of fighting to the death. President Truman had a big decision to make, whether to use the atomic bomb or no. He did not hesitate in ordering its use. Caught up in this scenario is the sinking of the USS Indianapolis which had delivered the bomb. They were hit by Japanese torpedoes form a submarine. Many of these sailors died after entering the water. They were attacked by sharks. Also rescue was very slow, as the Navy lost track of this ship. The distress signals sent were considered to by a Japanese ploy to lure ships into the area.
The Japanese were still hesitant to surrender after the bomb in Hiroshima. This bomb killed 40,000 outright, and eventually would cause the death of a quarter million people. The bomb in Nagasaki was not quite so deadly, but it convinced the Japanese to surrender. They did not know how many bombs were in the American arsenal. In fact there were none, and it would take a couple months to construct another.
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